


Prove It

by BubblyShip



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alphdyne - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Sansgore, Scared Sans (Undertale), Soulmates, first sight, supportive asgore, unwanted soulmates, zings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:15:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25589698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblyShip/pseuds/BubblyShip
Summary: All monsters have soulmates. When a monster discovers their soulmate and their eyes meet, a zing will occur between the two. And just like that, a monster could find their soulmate.Asgore has been alive for over a thousand years. Being a boss monster allowed for him to live as long as he did, and being as old as he was, he has given up on ever finding a zing.However, he still dreams of one day finding his soulmate.Sans doesn't believe in love. Zings were just an occurrence that caused monsters to reproduce, it wasn't true love. He never wanted to find his zing, he refused to find them. After what happened with his own parents, he didn't want to end up in the same situation.Then, a human child fell underground.Everything went downhill from there. Or maybe it went uphill...
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Asgore Dreemurr/Sans
Comments: 13
Kudos: 98





	1. Chapter 1 - A Zing

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed this book like in the very back of my unfinished stories, and I hadn't touched it in a long, long time so sorry if the writing isn't fantastic. I decided to upload this book anyway and finish it so I can get it out of the way but I believe my other Sansgore book is considerably better. This one has a bit of a rushed ending and it's not fantastic but I'll upload it anyway because people have different tastes. Either way, this was written a long time ago and I didn't update it so it's not my best.

True love from one look was a lie.

Papyrus never liked watching romantic movies with Sans because of this belief his brother had built. The short skeleton always ended up making fun of the movies, unable to take them seriously because of his belief that true love was just a lie. Those movies were never realistic, they were just dumb and fake.

That's why Sans hated the possibility that he would zing with someone.

A zing, for most monsters, was something magical. When you and your set soulmate looked one another in the eye, you would feel a zing at the connection as your souls synched. It was meant to be by fate itself, or so people said.

But Sans knew the truth behind a zing. It was a natural monster process to make them reproduce more, that was it. He just couldn't bring himself to believe that true love was based off of one look, with no information about the other. Love at first sight was just a tale told by people who wished for it themselves, it was a lie.

That's why he never left Snowdin, why he never met new people. The thought that Sans was going to be tricked into a sense of 'love' made him stay at home, hidden inside whenever he heard there was a new visitor. Every single time there was a visitor, Sans would duck inside of his house until they were out of Snowdin.

There was only one time Sans had slipped up, and it was with the woman behind the door. As soon as he heard her voice from behind it, he backed away, his fear of her possibly being his soulmate making him fearful that he would be tricked by his own body. Only after asking her and confirming that she had zinged with someone else before they died long ago that Sans continued to talk to her.

He wouldn't turn out like his parents. He refused.

But then, he met a human in the forest.

Small and frail, Frisk had looked scared when he first saw them. Remembering the promise he made to the woman behind the door, he decided to help the human child, but he refused to leave Snowdin and go further. The risk of meeting his zing was too high, he had to stay put.

Frisk had asked others, Sans knew they did. Everyone in Snowdin was aware of his fears, although they all disagreed with him, he was allowed to have his own opinions, as he let them have their own opinions. If they wanted to try with their zings, they could go ahead. That's why Sans didn't do anything but congratulate his brother when Papyrus found his soulmate at a live action show. As long as Papyrus was happy and didn't rush anything too quickly, Sans was fine with it. Thankfully, he had already known Alphys from school, so he didn't mind talking to her about the two.

One downside to his belief was that he was surrounded by people who had all found their zings. Almost everyone in Snowdin did, Papyrus was three months into a relationship now with Mettaton, and Alphys and Undyne were half of a year in as well. They constantly tried to push Sans to find his own, but he didn't want to budge. If his zing was truly his 'soulmate', then he should share the same beliefs as Sans.

Then, he received a text from Papyrus about the human.

It was near the end of the journey, the human had just fought Asgore and Flowey from what Sans knew. He didn't know Flowey, since he refused to meet new people, but Alphys had talked about him and what she had done to create him. He knew that Flowey was powerful, but he didn't know anything about King Asgore. Even Papyrus had met him, while Sans had stayed at home that day.

Sans knew Frisk needed him, so he decided to agree with Papyrus to leave his station and go to the castle. Knowing shortcuts, he made sure to avoid everyone, taking himself straight to the judgement hall. However, he heard someone start to run in, so he ducked behind a pillar.

It sounded like the woman behind the door from her panting, but he didn't dare take a look in case he zinged. Almost as soon as she had entered the room, Sans heard Undyne run down the judgement hall as well, Alphys shortly behind with Papyrus. He stayed behind the pillar, unsure if there was anyone else with them until the hall went silent again.

Now he could go.

Carefully taking a step out, Sans made his way to the throne room, never have actually seeing the large flower filled area.

It was...

So beautiful.

Sans always had a knack for flowers, loving the way they grew, how they looked. The only reason why he didn't go to waterfall to see the echo flowers more was because he was scared of zinging. But this throne room reminded him of why he loved flowers so much, how beautiful they were. These flowers were well tended, flourishing in this room, as whoever tended them cared about their health.

Forcing himself away from the flowers, Sans went towards the room where he heard everyone else's voices from, wanting to help the kiddo as much as possible. It was weird, going out of Snowdin for the first time in awhile, but Papyrus asked him to.

Everyone was standing in front of Frisk, all of them talking at once. From the way they were standing, Sans could only see the backs of everyone, but he could recognize his brother and friends from it. However, he could see the back of a goat woman, probably Toriel, and the back of a purple cloaked man.

"Hey Paps, what's going on?" Sans said, walking up to them.

Everyone turned to look at him, and when they did, his eyelights met the purple cloaked man's eyes.

And just like that, he zinged.


	2. Chapter 2 - Soulmate

The feeling of zinging was something Sans never felt before.

Looking into the soft eyes of the goat man in front of him, Sans' body froze in his spot, unable to tear his gaze away as his soul started thumping wildly in his chest. Everything seemed to just disappear from the world at that moment, Sans unable to process anything else but the blonde haired male in front of him.

Tall and wide, curly blonde hair, muscular, it was his perfect package. This guy was freaking _hot_ , there was no doubt about it. Sans could feel the sudden link created between their souls from zinging, horrifyingly connecting him to someone he didn't even know.

"No, no, no!" Sans said as he managed to snap out of the sudden spell he was placed under, backing away from the man.

"Uh oh..." Papyrus mumbled.

"You guys zinged?" Alphys asked, "King Asgore and him zinged?"

King Asgore?

He just zinged with the freaking _King Asgore_?

Everyone knew about the King's situation. He had been alive for over a thousand years, but never found his soulmate the entire time. Some people believed that he didn't have a soulmate, or that his soulmate had died at a young age. The King was known as the most powerful monster born, and some people even said that his power was the reason why he couldn't have a soulmate.

Well, that apparently wasn't the case.

Sans didn't want to zing! He didn't want to be tricked by his body, he didn't want any of this. Especially not with the King of all monsters.

So he ran.

"W-Wait!" He could hear his so called soulmate yell, but Sans was already gone, collapsing into his room.

This wasn't good. His body would trick him into thinking this guy, who he didn't even know, was the love of his life.

He wouldn't be fooled.

He wouldn't allow it.

~~~~~~

_"Mommy, Daddy?"_

_It was late at night. They were both up, again, the bags evident under their eye sockets. They had been at it once more, in yet another argument that led to Sans not being able to get enough sleep. If this continued, the neighbors would call the Royal Guard, again, on his parents. He would fall asleep in class, again, from the lack of sleep during the night._

_"Honey, go back to bed," His Mother had told him._

_He tried that. Several times._

_"But the neighbors might call again," Sans said, "And I have a test tomorrow."_

_They were supposed to be soul mates. They had zinged at a wedding both of them were forced to attend, and they had started dating immediately, and gotten married only a month after._

_It was too early._

_They were arguing once again about his Mother, and where she had went out. Her work shift ended at six, but she never came home until Sans was getting into bed. They would argue where she was all night, Papyrus always ended up crying. And Sans was the only one left to take care of him._

_"Sans, it's fine," His Father had said, "We're zing partners, this is how it works."_

_"But this happens every night," Sans said, "The teachers said I might have to repeat a grade if I keep falling asleep in class."_

_"Fine, fine, we'll go to bed," His Mother said, "You're Father just has to learn to respect my privacy."_

_"Your privacy?" Gaster would snap, "There's a difference between search history and disappearing for hours always saying it's none of our business!"_

_And just like that, they were back at it again._

~~~~~~

It was just a dumb biological function that made his soul thump like that, it didn't mean anything. He didn't even know the guy, there was no way he was meant to be his soul mate.

The others could believe whatever they like, but he knew that it was just a trick. A false sense of love that really was just a way to encourage reproduction between monsters. Of course, zings could fall in love, but a zing was just for repopulating their species, not for romance.

He didn't want to end up like his parents. Always arguing, never happy, they believed the lies that others told them. It only ended in misery.

The poor skeleton found himself sobbing into his hands as he leaned against his bed, scared out of his mind. His 'soulmate' was the King of all people, of all the options he was forced onto him. Was there a backout button? A switch to choose no mate?

Sans didn't want a zing! He didn't want to turn out like his parents, a shadow of their past selves, unable to experience happiness because of their relationship. It was horrible to watch, as they went downhill, leaving Sans alone in the world to fend for himself.

What if his soul forced him to love someone he didn't want to love? What if the King turned against him, hurt him? What if he turned out like his Mom?

It was hard, living the way Sans did. He was scared of love, which is why he did things highly frowned upon. Sleeping with someone who he hadn't zinged with, having one night stands with people who's soulmates have already died. Grillby was one of his more active ones, the fire elemental had lost his wife to waterfalls environment, so they had a fling from time to time. Sans didn't want to be tricked into love, he didn't want it. He liked his life now!

It was also hard, watching others do the very thing he swore never to do. They all told him how happy they were in a relationship, but he just couldn't believe it. Was it built off of true love, or the idea that they should be in love?

In a sense, zings were like arranged marriages. You just meet a person, and you're expected to fall in love, have children. Just like that, and you're already bound to someone you don't even know. It made no sense, why did people frown upon arranged marriages but accept soulmates with open arms? It was the same thing, practically. Someone, or something, assumes it knows what's best for you and expects you to marry them. So how was it different?

You can't just stand by one idea and deny another. If people were allowed to go against arranged marriages, then they should be allowed to go against soulmates as well. Sans always scowled at monsters that claimed that human arranged marriages were terrible, but then would get married to a monster that they zinged.

Why wasn't he allowed to choose who he fell in love with? Or if he even wanted love? It was his choice!

Wasn't it?

He had received backlash for his choices, from certain, old school monsters. It wasn't like Sans was saying that everyone shouldn't follow a zing, if they wanted to they could, but Sans believed he shouldn't follow it if he didn't want to. He didn't want love, shouldn't that be allowed?

Soon, he was sniffling away his sudden outburst of tears, rubbing them away from his eye sockets before he pulled out his laptop. It was a welcome distraction, not wanting to think of the situation that had just occurred. He cared about the kiddo and wanted to help them, yeah, but he didn't want to look at King Asgore again. At what the world thought was his soulmate.

Youtube was soon opened and he was barely even paying attention to the video, his mind all scrambled from the thoughts of the King to even pay attention.

Why was the King of all people his zing? Was it because the King could place a law forcing monsters to marry their soulmates? So fate would screw Sans over and not let him choose his own destiny?

Suddenly, Sans could feel a tremor in the underground shake his house, bracing himself against the wall as his entire house shook lightly from the tremor.

No way.

"Did... did Frisk just break the barrier?" Sans asked quietly.


	3. Chapter 3 - Broken Barrier

The barrier was broken.

So many things had happened since Frisk fell underground, it was astounding. In just three days, Frisk single handedly freed all of monster kind from the underground.

And made Sans find his soulmate he didn't really want, but he can deal with it.

It had been sixteen days since the barrier was broken, and luckily Sans hadn't interacted with the King, or even spotted him, since then. It helped that his house was located in the town furthest away from the capital and castle, which was why Asgore never came out to Snowdin like he did other places. He probably was also busy with the whole human treaty and monster movement to the surface, already having an alliance settled out.

In barely over two weeks, he had managed to get a peace treaty settled out and empty villages already prepared to move monsters in from the underground. It was impressive, but one thing Sans realized was that Asgore had control to who moved into where. He was moving in higher prioritized monsters into houses first, which included him and Papyrus for whatever reason.

Which reminded Sans, the King had access to monster files. He knew where Sans lived, how old he was, what school he went to, and basically everything about him.

So that was great.

Asgore had probably already looked into his files, because Sans started receiving random things in the mail sent from the capitol. The first day, it was a rose, Sans threw it out the window. The second day, it was a box of small chocolates, which Sans gave to Papyrus to eat. Everyday, he received something new, and everyday he threw it away or gave it to Papyrus.

Papyrus didn't like this.

"SANS, HE'S SENDING IN ALL OF THESE GIFTS, YOU SHOULDN'T KEEP THROWING THEM OUT!" Papyrus would always say, "IT'S VERY SWEET! GIVE THE KING A CHANCE, HE'S NICE AND I THINK YOU WOULD LIKE HIM."

"He's just trying to trick me, no thanks," Sans would tell him.

But sixteen days after the barrier had broken, Papyrus had told Sans some news he didn't really expect to hear.

"Sans, darling, Papyrus and I have been dating for sometime," Mettaton had told Sans, "And I absolutely adore him. So we have decided to start a new life on the surface, together."

"I'M GOING TO MOVE IN WITH HIM, SANS!" Papyrus said.

Sans was only half paying attention, as he had found some good puns on his phone and was scrolling through them. But that statement made him snap his head up faster than he ever had before, teeth gaping open from surprise.

"We know you aren't exactly 'pro soulmate'," Mettaton said, "But your brother and I have both agreed that we are ready to move in together. We want to start a new life with each other on the surface, and I want to take care of Papyrus."

"WE WANTED TO DISCUSS THIS WITH YOU," Papyrus said, "IF YOU DON'T APPROVE, WE WON'T DO IT. BUT I FEEL READY, AS METTATON DOES, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE WITH US AS WELL."

"You know as long as you both are happy, I don't mind," Sans said, "I'm against myself having a soulmate, but if you two want to, then go ahead! Just be happy with one another, 'kay?"

"OF COURSE, SANS!" Papyrus said, hugging his brother, "WILL YOU BE FINE LIVING ON YOUR OWN?"

"I don't mind, you know I can take care of myself," Sans said, "Maybe I can finally get that house under the stars like I've always wanted."

"You could ask the King, I'm sure he'd find a house for you like that!" Mettaton offered, "Since he is the one organizing living arrangements to the surface."

"I'd rather eat my own legs, thanks though," Sans said, looking back down at his phone. "But I don't mind staying underground a bit longer while I try to find a good house."

He didn't want to ever ask the King for help, or even talk to him. It was just too awkward now, since Sans wasn't returning any of the King's attempts, and Papyrus had definitely explained to him by now with Alphys that Sans was anti-zing.

"You told him that I'm not about love, right?" Sans asked Papyrus, poking the new package on the table.

"Of course, we all had to explain why you suddenly ran," Mettaton said.

"HE'S VERY DETERMINED, KIND ASGORE SAID HE WOULDN'T GIVE UP ON YOU," Papyrus said, "HE HAS WENT ALL OF HIS LIFE WITHOUT A SOULMATE, WHY DON'T YOU JUST GIVE HIM A CHANCE? JUST ONE DATE?"

"No," Sans said.

"BUT-"

"Paps, I said no," Sans said, "I'm not really bright on the idea of going on a date with the King, or anyone."

"He's never gone on a date?" Mettaton asked Papyrus, "Like, not even the practice ones monsters do?"

"NOPE," Papyrus said, "HE'S ONLY DONE ONE NIGHT STANDS, HE LIKES TO GET OUT THERE AND NOT HAVE ANY STRINGS ATTACHED."

"Grillbs did me good and we don't have to stress about love or anything," Sans said, "I just got up and left, and I like it that way. I don't like the idea of being forced to love someone."

"Well, you're missing out," Mettaton said, "Because with my soulmate, I'm happy."

"Eh, I'm content where I am," Sans told the robot, "But as long as Paps makes you happy, go for it."

After that day, he helped the two fill in paper forms for a new house request before they took it to the King, Sans staying back as he usually did. Ever since it was revealed that he and the King were zing partners, his friends had been talking to the King more than usual.

He didn't like it.

The next day, two letters from the capital about relocation arrived at Sans' house. Sans was rather confused, since both of them should be included in one letter.

"Paps, you and Mettaton got letters from the capital," Sans said, "I guess they did it seperate. I thought we applied for you both together."

"WE DID!" Papyrus said, standing up from the couch and walking to Sans, "OH, THIS ONE IS MEANT FOR YOU."

"Me? I never applied," Sans said.

But Papyrus was right, the second letter was addressed to him. It was a formal letter about relocation to the surface, just as Papyrus's was, so it wasn't a personal love letter from the King or anything, thankfully. Sans quickly ripped open his own letter, finding a formal document saying that his new location would be ready to be moved into in a couple of days. They had all of his information correct, his current address and full name, so obviously someone must have applied him.

"Paps, did you apply me?" Sans asked, looking down at the information.

"I BELIEVE IT WAS THE KING, ACTUALLY," Papyrus said, "HE MOST LIKELY APPLIED YOU ALL ON HIS OWN!"

Sans sighed, looking up at Papyrus.

"You told him I needed a house to move into, didn't you?"

"WELL, THE KING SEEMS RATHER LONELY," Papyrus said, "AND HE HAS A CASTLE ON THE SURFACE THAT HAS A GREAT VIEW OF THE STARS!"

"Castle?" Sans asked, "Wait, wait, I'm moving into a castle? On the surface?"

"LIKE I SAID, ASGORE WON'T BE GIVING UP ON YOU," Papyrus said, "HE WANTED TO MOVE YOU INTO THE CASTLE WITH HIM."

"With him?" Sans asked, "Paps, why didn't you stop him?"

"HE'S THE KING, WHAT HE SAYS IS THE LAW, SANS! I DID TELL HIM YOU WOULD PROBABLY NOT BE HAPPY WITH THIS SO YOU'LL BE GETTING YOUR OWN ROOM."

"Oh my Toby Fox," Sans breathed, looking down at the notice.

So, apparently now he was being forced to move into a castle with his soulmate? The soulmate that he didn't want. In a castle he didn't ask for.

"I SHOULD PROBABLY MENTION ASGORE IS GOING TO HAVE THE SERVANTS TAKING CARE OF YOU TOO," Papyrus said.

"Okay," Sans breathed out as he turned around, "Just... just okay."

"Sans, where are you going?"

"To my special place."

"SANS, GET OUT OF THE TRASHCAN!"


	4. Chapter 4 - Moving

Without Asgore coming to Snowdin, it was easy to hide the fact that the King was his soulmate from the other residents there. All he had to do was hide the mail, and it was pretty simple. Papyrus didn't tell anyone about it, nor did anyone else who knew, so others didn't find out, and didn't treat him differently.

Sans didn't expect for the King to send movers to help assist Sans in the moving process.

Everyone in Snowdin stared as he opened his door to Royal Guard members sent to help escort Sans and his stuff to the surface and to his new house, or castle. Papyrus was ecstatic to see Undyne, but Undyne was not happy to have her position used as a box carrier for her friend who didn't want to carry them himself.

"Hey, Undyne, if I give you a solid twenty," Sans whispered to her, "How about you not take my stuff and we tell the King I just died."

"No, Sans, Asgore's orders," Undyne said, "Since you're his soulmate, you're a top priority now in case anyone tries to attack you."

"You're Asgore's soulmate?" One of Snowdin's residents asked loudly.

"NO!" Sans yelled quickly.

"It's none of your concern," Undyne told them, "Don't pester Sans about it, I think he might actually explode."

"Yeah, I think I might too," Sans sighed.

"Here, we brought the van, so we can just load the stuff into the back and you can duck behind the seats," Undyne said, "If you want to do that.

"Yeah, that sounds great," Sans said, "Thanks. But I'll totally be taking this opportunity of you guys loading my stuff to go take a nap in the backseat."

"Figured," Undyne said, "But yell for us if you need anything, like if someone's attacking you and I get to kick someone's butt."

"Sure, sure," Sans said.

Although he didn't want to move into the castle, or get this much attention drawn to him by the Royal Guard carrying his things for him and acting like his personal guards, he knew he probably didn't really have a choice. He just had to convince the King that he didn't want to be his soulmate, and he would just have to accept that Sans didn't believe in love.

But maybe after a little bit. He did have to admit living in a castle sounded a bit fun, and really freaking cool, as his childhood wasn't exactly the richest. So maybe after a week he'd ditch the King and find a real house to settle down in. Maybe near Grillby's new restaurant if he opened one, the food was good, and Grillby was definitely good in bed.

Sans laid down in the backseat, unsure of how the rest of his day would go. He was hoping to get by in life without ever meeting his soulmate, or he figured they would feel the same at least, but this was something on a different level entirely. He didn't really know what to expect from this trip, if he should just jump out the window on the way there or not.

"I can't believe you zinged with him." Undyne placed a box in the backseat. "I mean, you're my friend and everything Sans, so no offense, but you two are complete opposites."

"I can't believe it either," Sans said, sitting up, "There's a lot of people who want to be the big guy's zing, but instead the one guy who doesn't want it ends up with him. Maybe the world screwed up."

"Or maybe it's fate telling you to get together with him," Undyne said.

"Or telling him to move on and find love his own way," Sans said, "I thought he had a wife anyway. Toriel. How come they don't get back together?"

"Remember their kids dying and everything?" Undyne asked, "Not to mention they aren't soulmates, I don't think he's going to go back to her after he found you."

"Great," Sans groaned, "Wanna pick up Grillby's on the way?"

"Actually, we should," Undyne said.

"Wait, really?" Sans asked.

"We're heading all the way to the surface and then straight to the castle, it's going to take a bit and we should get some food," Undyne said, "But you're paying for your meal with your own money."

"Fine, fine," Sans said, "But only because Grillbs is going to need the money for the surface."

"YOU NEVER PAY HIS TAB!" Papyrus interjected, sticking his head into view as well, a box in his hands, "MAYBE WITH YOUR SOULMATE HE'LL PAY IT FOR YOU?"

"Grillbs cuts me slack, it's fine," Sans said.

Sans and Papyrus weren't exactly rich, due to the struggles they had to deal with as children with no parents. They managed to get by just fine, with the help of other monsters, and Grillby was one of those people who helped. He ignored Sans' tab, since Sans sometimes found his paycheck wasn't big enough to get enough food on their table.

That's why he actually _wanted_ Papyrus to move in with Mettaton. The robot was rather rich, he could take care of Papyrus better than Sans. And that's why Sans was willing to stay at the castle for a couple of days until he could find a cheaper place to stay.

"I just can't believe the King's making us bodyguard you," Undyne said, setting down another box. "But at least if someone does attack you, I get to kick someone's butt."

"How long is it going to take to get to the surface?" Sans asked.

"We have to go through the entire underground in car, since the boat person doesn't take items," Undyne said.

"Long journey," RG 02 said, setting down another box as well.

"Oh, hey, I didn't even notice you until now 02," Sans said, "Since you're so reserved."

"... Sorry," He said.

"Nah, it's fine," Sans said, "But how's it going with 01? Since you guys got married?"

He liked how 01 and 02 zinged when they were younger, so they didn't understand the social pressures of having a soulmate. So they learned to fall in love before they even understood, which to Sans, it was one of the few examples of true love anymore.

Yeah, Papyrus and Mettaton were happy, but did they fall in love because of each other or what society and their bodies told them? At least they were being careful about it, Sans was thankful that both of them understood not to rush it.

"Alright," He said.

And that was it, that's all he ever told about his relationship. Although he only said one word, it worked for Sans. He wasn't a talker, and that was alright.

"That's good," Sans said, "But are only us three going?"

"I HAVE TO CONTINUE PACKING FOR WHEN MY HOUSE IS READY, SO I CAN'T JOIN YOU," Papyrus said, "BUT MAKE SURE TO TEXT ME WHEN YOU GET THERE!"

"I'll text you puns every five minutes," Sans said.

"NO!" Papyrus yelled, "PLEASE DON'T!"

"Fine, I won't," Sans said, "But I'll text you whenever I get there."

"We're going to be driving through the night, we should be getting there by morning," Undyne said.

"Oh crap, really?" Sans asked, "I didn't think it was that long."

"The castle is a couple of towns away from where the barrier was broken, so that with leaving the underground will make it take awhile," Undyne said.

"Shucks, sorry 'dyne," Sans said, "I didn't think that he'd make you drive all this way just to take me there."

"Well, since you're his soulmate and everything, you're a bit of high priority now," Undyne said, "Even if you don't want to be his zing and everything, you're still considered important now."

"If people start treating me like royalty, I'm going to puke," Sans said.

"I HIGHLY DOUBT THAT," Papyrus said, "BUT THAT'S THE LAST BOX, YOU'RE ALL SET!"

"Thanks guys," Sans said, "For doing a skele-ton of work."

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU!" Papyrus groaned, "I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO PACKING MY ACTION FIGURES, TRY TO GET SOME SLEEP IN THE CAR. REMEMBER TO CALL IF YOU HAVE ANOTHER NIGHTMARE."

"You have nightmares?" Undyne asked.

"From time to time," Sans shrugged, "No big deal."

"You sure?" Undyne asked, "Because if they're happening too much, you should see a Doctor."

"I've already been to a therapist, we got some stuff settled out," Sans said, "But really, it's no big deal. I can deal with them now."

"What are they about?" Undyne asked.

Both he and Papyrus fell silent.

Making friends with a past like theirs wasn't easy, which is why they often kept it hidden. People started to judge them, only a few, certain people knew about it. Thankfully, even Asgore wouldn't know about it, since the files had been removed years ago. Only Sans's therapist and a select few knew about how his parents both died, and he preferred to keep it that way. Papyrus wasn't old enough to remember, which is why he didn't have the same nightmares Sans did. But he knew what happened in their past, and how those memories caused Sans PTSD. And why those memories ruined his view of a zing.

"Nothing much, usual nightmare stuff," Sans said, "Nothing too important."

"Well, we should hurry up and get going now, if we want to make it before the sunrise," Undyne said.

"Okay, bye Paps," Sans said, "If you and Mettaton have fun again, in your bed, not the couch!"

"SANS!" Papyrus yelled, blushing. "BUT I LOVE YOU AND I'LL TEXT YOU TOMORROW."

"Love ya too, bro," Sans said, waving at him.


	5. Chapter 5 - Texting

Sans lied.

He didn't call Papyrus when he had a nightmare.

The trip was long, like Sans guessed, all three of them grabbing some dinner before they started off on the drive. Undyne and RG 02 both sat in the front while Sans thankfully had the entire back to himself, eating his dinner back there while talking to them. He ended up falling asleep quickly enough, but it didn't last long. His sleep never seemed to anymore.

As he figured, Sans was sitting up suddenly from a nightmare, finding that he was in the capital by this point, everyone else asleep due to the time, leaving the streets bare.

"You've only been asleep for two hours Sans, geez," Undyne said, "You sure you're nightmares are under control?"

"Of course they are," Sans said, "I'm so good at sleeping, I can do it with my eye sockets closed."

"We're going to be on the surface soon, so I guess you had good timing," Undyne said, "So you can see the real stars."

"Good thing then." He adjusting himself so he was leaning forward and could talk to the two more easily. "Have you looked at them yet?"

"Yeah, a few times," Undyne said, "But I like the sun more, especially during sunsets. We saw the sunset when the barrier first broke, you missed it."

"I can always see it tomorrow night," Sans said.

The stars...

It was just something else, seeing them in person. They were real, above him as Sans stared out the window in wonder. Sans could already name a couple of the stars, their names, some constellations. Ever since he was a child, and he heard of stars, he immediately grew attached to them. He often found himself climbing out his window when his parents were arguing to escape to waterfall, and he would star up at the rocks in hopes he would see the stars one day.

They were beautiful.

Sans repositioned himself, leaning against the door so he could look up at the stars as he drifted back off to sleep. It didn't take long before he was asleep once again, welcoming the darkness under the stars as the car rocked gently down the road.

~~~~~~

The sheets were warm.

They were really thick and warm, fluffy too, nothing like the thin blankets he usually slept with. That's why he woke up quickly, sitting up in the big bed.

This wasn't his bed.

He didn't know this bed.

Sans must've been carried inside from the car, probably by Undyne and RG 02. They must've carried his stuff too, which he really didn't want them to do. His plan was to keep his stuff in the car so he could move out easier.

The room was as big as his entire house, it was impressive how big it was. It looked a bit old, all of the furniture already in there dusted. Probably from not being cleaned after the war, humans didn't dare touch any of the monsters old materials, which was nice. That meant that they could move into the old houses and wouldn't have to deal with finding new ones or building them.

The bed was so comfortable that Sans didn't want to force himself out of it, but he did anyway, already missing the warmth from the fluffy sheets. Fully standing up, Sans gawked at his surroundings, finding that he looked like an ant in such a large room. The boxes containing his stuff was already loaded into the room, one of the boxes was open and a pair of his clothing was pulled out and set next to the bed.

Remembering that he forgot to text his brother, Sans sat back down onto the bed and pulled out his phone, sending his brother a quick text.

_Sans: heya paps, sry i forgot to text u when i got hre, fell sleep_

_Papyrus: There you are you lazy bones! I figured you fell asleep, how was the surface?_

_Sans: cool, the stars were amazing, 10/10 recommend_

_Papyrus: Did you meet Asgore? How was he?_

_Sans: hvnt met him, don't want 2. serisly paps u know i dont wanna be zinged_

_Papyrus: I know, but he is housing you in a castle! You should at least thank him!_

_Sans: i mean, he didn't really give me a choice, u know i like small houses_

_Papyrus: You can't blame him after going so long without a soul mate! I understand your conflicting beliefs, but he still is the King._

_Sans: aaaaa i know, ths freaking sucks, tibia honest im screwed_

_Papyrus: SANS!_

_Sans: if i stop making puns will u help me get out of this?_

_Papyrus: Asgore is already aware of your feelings, but he said he wants to try to win over you anyway. He is looking for love, not sexual intercourse Sans. I know you're scared about it, but Asgore is a good guy and he won't be like our parents._

_Sans: just because he wont be like them doesnt mean that he likes me, he doesn't even know me paps! he just thinks we should be dating because we zinged, he hasn't bothered to try to get to know me before trying to seduce me r whatever_

_Papyrus: He has not been trying to seduce you, you silly bones! He doesn't want to have sexual intercourse, he just wants to get to know his soul mate!_

_Sans: the frst thing he can know is that i ain't gonna be his soulmate_

_Papyrus: You've definitely made that clear, Sans, very clear._

_Sans: sry im just frking out a lil bro_

_Papyrus: You're doing great! I'm sure everything will be just fine, and Asgore won't force you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable._

_Sans: yea, ur right, sry, im just having jitters, i dnt like this, its all a bit too much_

_Papyrus: It's fine to be overwhelmed Sans, but you're perfectly fine. Asgore won't force you to do things like our parents, he wants you two to fall in love before you guys become anything. If that never happens, then you'll never be a couple. Asgore said he will respect your opinion, but he does still want to try and fight for you._

_Sans: thx for the pep talk bro, didnt mean to go all wild on ya, ur prob busy packing and moving_

_Papyrus: I'll always set everything aside for you! Don't worry about it, you're scared about a relationship and that's understandable. I was honestly scared when I started dating Mettaton, but it was for a different reason that I wouldn't be good enough, but we've gotten past that. If you don't like something, just tell Asgore and he will step back, he wants to earn your love, not force your body. If you're really uncomfortable with the castle, just tell him and he will move you out._

_Sans: i wanted to at least try out the castle tbh, i might not stay but its still pretty cool i mean its a freaking castle i gotta at least try it paps_

_Papyrus: I figured as such brother. I also told him you feel weird about having servants serving you constantly, so they won't be cleaning your room since you like it dirty. Unfortunately._

_Sans: u know me 2 well_

Sans threw himself onto the bed behind him, a groan being knocked from his system as he made contact. Sure, Sans was thankful for the entire castle and everything, it was awesome! But he wasn't sure what to do about it? Say thank you?

Actually, yeah, he was sure to do that. However, physically doing it was a different story. The bed was just so comfy, and the thought of talking to his zing made Sans worried. If Asgore wanted to, he could order the skeleton to be the Queen, and Sans would have no choice. Maybe he could just lay on the bed and never leave and have to deal with the reality of his situation. Yeah, that sounded nice.

Sans was sure Asgore was normally a good guy. His parents were, when they were apart they actually were great people. They would smile and laugh, crack jokes and be nice. That's why Sans liked it whenever they were apart and not thinking about one another, it felt like he had real parents. But as soon as Mom was late coming home, or Gaster forgot to buy groceries again, they both would get angry again and he would miss valuable sleep from their arguing.

Yeah, sleep sounded better. Go to bed and never wake up, never have to think about stupid forced zings or anything else.

No, nevermind. He'd just have another nightmare. A usual occurrence at this point in his life, it was a part of his schedule at this point.

Speaking of schedules, he was hungry. Not having eaten breakfast since yesterday, Sans was about to ask Papyrus to bring him some food, only to remember that his brother was all the way underground.

Oh, great.

Now he had to get up and go explore around.

The funny thing about a castle was that it was giant and finding a kitchen would be terrible. And with Sans' stubby little legs, he would be exhausted by the time he did find it. Sans should have kept himself awake for when they reached the castle, so he could have at least looked around and knew the way out. But nope, he had no idea where to go.

And looking out into the hall, Sans was disappointed to find there was no convenient maps located about. No people, either, or any signs to direct him in any location.

So, naturally, back to his phone!

_Sans: heya, paps, uhhhh... im lost_

_Papyrus: What do you mean you're lost?_

_Sans: unfound, kaput, gone forever, stuff lke that bro_

_Papyrus: Didn't you go to your room? Just trace back your steps!_

_Sans: no, i was sleeping, duh_

_Papyrus: Why must you be this way Sans_

_Sans: eh, u luv me_

_Papyrus: Because I must. Anyway, maybe just explore around, get a sense of your new home!_

_Sans: but im hungry and it's big, im going to die of starvation before i ever get to the darn kitchen_

_Papyrus: No you won't, and it'll be some exercise to get your bones moving for once!_

_Sans: nuuuuu thats evil, im going to die here_

_Papyrus: That's what you get for not picking up your sock! You even left it here when you moved! I picked it up and had to put it back down because it's been there so long the carpet underneath is a different color than the rest of the carpet!_

_Sans: totally worth it_

_Papyrus: Go exercise and find your food yourself! Unless you'd like for me to contact King Asgore and tell him his dear soul mate is lost and needs his help!_

_Sans: k i got it, fine aaaaaa_

Absolutely evil of Papyrus. Sans had no choice but to pocket his phone and do a game of pick a random direction before he instantly got utterly lost. It wasn't even after a minute before Sans realized he didn't even remember which room he had come from, turning around to try to return, only for all of the doors to look exactly the same.

Darn it.


	6. Chapter 6 - An Agreement

The knight in shining armor soulmate cliche wasn't really what Sans expected, but either way he was really thankful.

Asgore was wearing shining armor, sure, but it didn't really affect what he had ended up saving Sans from.

Sans wasn't really sure how to act around this guy. Sans wasn't exactly against the idea of romance for other people, as long as you were happy. But not for him!

His parents never did set the best example, really. Constantly bickering wouldn't have been too bad, but what was worse was what kept him awake at night. The image of the blood and dust, evidence that the patient scientist Gaster always presented himself as had a snapping point.

It wasn't a good sight to watch as a child, really. Seeing all that dust, seeing a soulmate turn on the other and bring down an attack harder than he had intended. That's why he always was scared, he didn't want to be like his Mother. He didn't want to be a dust pile on the floor, having been warped by his soulmate.

But maybe Sans was overreacting.

Because Asgore was _not_ what he had expected.

Sans wasn't in love with him, that was for sure. They just met. That's where his parents had went wrong, they had declared their love too early. That's what Sans hated about the soulmate obsession, people took it too far too quickly. He hated that he didn't have a choice, that everyone expected him to go prance up to his soulmate and get married that week.

Sans would never do that, even if he found the King funny. If Sans was going to fall in love, it would be on his own terms. Not that of society's, of breeding habits. No. It was his soul and his body, if he didn't want to be with his zing, then he should have a right not to. Sans wanted that choice.

But Asgore was not what he expected. He wasn't controlling like his Father, and he wasn't stubborn like his Mother. No, he was like Sans. An absolute wreck.

The guy was a nervous mess around Sans, constantly going back on his words. He wanted to impress Sans, that was obvious, but he was so nervous about doing it that he ended up rewording the same sentence three times.

His parents were never like that towards one another, they never tried to impress the other. If anything, they tried to avoid each other, sick of their constant arguing.

Sans had anticipated the King of monsters making Sans his Queen, forcing the skeleton to date him without any other choice in the matter. Instead, he had nervously asked Sans what his favorite flower was, then stuttered as he meant color, then nervously ran into a wall.

It was pretty difficult to stay stubborn and distant like he had planned when he was constantly giggling at all of the screw ups the King made. The King of monsters, who was nervously unsure of how far away Sans wanted him to stand.

He was respecting Sans, though. Keeping his distance, not insisting Sans do anything. It made Sans feel bad, having acted that way when Asgore was doing nothing but being nice to him.

And seriously, the King was letting Sans live in a castle. A _castle_. It was pretty nice, just a bit too big. And confusing.

"Here, Asgore, I uh... I wanna apologize," Sans said to him, "I've always been a bit wonky about the idea of a soulmate."

"I know," Asgore said lightly, pawing the cup of tea in his hands. "Papyrus told me, and I understand."

"I don't want to start dating someone without even knowing them," Sans said, "I know we're supposed to be soulmates, which means we're supposed to love each other, but I don't want to be forced to love someone I don't know. I don't love you, this is the first time we've really talked."

"I know."

"So how about this."

Sans stuck out his hand, holding it out for the other.

"We'll become friends first, then we can start dating if we both feel up to it?" Sans asked.

"That sounds wonderful."

Asgore accepted his offering, gently giving Sans a soft, yet firm handshake.

"I'm Asgore, nice to meet you," Asgore said.

"Sans, nice to meet ya," Sans said.

This agreement might work out.

And it did.


End file.
